Then 1 year ago, china made a ballpoint pen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/18/finally-china-manufactures-a-ballpoint-pen-all-by-itse

Then 1 year ago, china made a ballpoint pen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/18/finally-china-manufactures-a-ballpoint-pen-all-by-itself/?utm_term=.c1e5524cb2b9 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/18... Granted it was a politically hot issue so there must have been lots of top-down pressure rather than allowing a need to rise organically (if some German company will sell you tiny metal balls for less than it would take to sell them the pen, why not just buy it from them?)